![]() ![]() That attitude shift is especially apparent among younger women, some of whom are growing disillusioned with marriage for its role in entrenching gender inequality, experts say.Ī report on the new statistics in the state-run Global Times on Monday pointed to the rising marriage age, declining number of young people overall in China and the country’s gender imbalance as factors contributing to the latest decline, citing independent demographer He Yafu. The party’s stringent response to Covid-19 also crystallized simmering political frustrations among some young people, with the catchphrase, “We are the last generation” – a refusal to bear children into the rigidly controlled Chinese state – becoming a rallying cry during Shanghai’s punishing two-month lockdown last spring.Ĭhanging gender norms and expanding career opportunities for women, as in other places in the world, are also widely seen as driving the marriage age higher and impacting attitudes about the institution. But a dire job market awaitsĪ sweeping crackdown by the ruling Communist Party on private industries from tech to education, as well as zero-Covid controls during the pandemic, have amplified these challenges. More people than ever are taking China's college entrance exam. JIAOZUO, CHINA - JUNE 05: Senior three students study in the classroom to prepare for the upcoming 2023 National College Entrance Exam (aka Gaokao) on Jin Jiaozuo, Henan Province of China. The country is now the world’s second most populous with its 1.4 billion people falling behind India, according to the United Nations.Ĭhinese officials see a direct link between fewer marriages and falling births in the country, where social norms and government regulations make it challenging for unmarried couples to have children.Īuthorities have taken steps to try and reverse the decline, which comes amid financial pressures impacting China’s young adults, including high unemployment and the rising cost of living. The data represents marriage during what was an unusually challenging year for people in China, as the government’s stringent Covid-19 controls saw multiple cities and districts across the country locked down and daily life disrupted by a host of restrictions.īut it also extends what has been a steady decline in people choosing to enter into marriages since a 2013 peak, when more than 13 million couples tied the knot – nearly double the 2022 nuptials.įalling numbers of marriages – and a marked decline in births – have garnered significant attention from authorities in Beijing amid expert predictions of a severe economic impact from a shrinking workforce and aging population.Ĭhina’s population shrank in 2022 for the first time in more than 60 years, with just 6.77 births per 1,000 people – the lowest level since the founding of Communist China in 1949. That’s down around 10.5% from the 7.63 million marriage registrations in 2021 and marks a record low since 1986, when the ministry began releasing statistics, according to state media. Some 6.83 million couples married in 2022, according to data released by China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs on Friday. China last year recorded its lowest number of marriages since public records became available, furthering a nearly decade-long decline in matrimony that has coincided with falling birth rates and triggered government concern of a demographic crisis. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |